Positive, Front-Facing Optics
Episode 5 of The Mosquito Coast season 2 starts with us back at the village, with Allie confronted about Charlie’s stupidity. Because of him being seen last episode, Isela now needs to speak to their landlord to clear things up. In the middle of the night, Allie is led out and down to the docks. After taking a boat and then a car ride, the pair head up to a seedy bar where Allie is taken to the backrooms, away from the cacophony of the local band playing to joyous punters. Guillermo is the landlord in question, and he reveals that Isela and the others live on the land owned by him. He protects Isela and the others from the cartels, which is exactly who Charlie has messed with. Because of Charlie’s actions, he’s led the poachers right to their area. Guillermo is put in a difficult position and as such, Allie needs to make it right to continue staying at Casa Rojo. There are plans to turn the village into a parking lot for the cartel’s own nefarious terms, so the only thing for it is to recruit Allie and use him to put a dent in their plans. Funnily enough, he’s not alone. Mr William Lee swaggers in, and he happens to be working for Guillermo too. As such, the pair are thrust into working together. Allie is not happy about working with William but he does so all the same. The pair bicker with the music on the way, padding out the run-time of this rather short episode. Anyway, they arrive at the tailors and put on suits ready for the big night. Speaking of our boy who ruins everything, Charlie continues to suffer from bad dreams. In the morning, he shrugs off Margot’s questions about his wellbeing and claims that he’s okay. Charlie is worried about Allie’s absence and eventually Margot and Dina feel the same way, making food but knowing they’re being kept in the dark about something big. When Isela shows up back at the village, she’s shifty and refuses to tell Margot what’s really happening. However, she’s not alone. Richard appears on the boat too. Margot’s face immediately drops and she warns him to stay away from her kids. He’s shocked to realize the kids don’t know their mum is a terrorist and promises to keep this a secret all the same. However, Dina happens to be listening outside and she overhears them talking. So what is Richard doing there? Well, apparently it’s just temporary and we don’t really learn much beyond that. Dina has heard enough though. When Margot realizes Dina has been listening to all of this, she tries in vain to talk her daughter around. “You’re a liar. Why on earth would I listen to you?” Dina says incredulously. Dina is shocked that Margot has let Allie take the fall for everything. Margot claims that she regrets everything but Dina calls it straight, pointing out Margot is only sorry she got caught. Margot tries to explain herself in reply, but of course Dina is having none of it, pointing out that she’s robbed them of their future. Meanwhile, William Lee and Allie show up to the big event dressed in suits, blending into the crowd at Virid. However, the Bautistas are in attendance, which Lee is quick to point out is big trouble for them if they’re seen. As a result, the pair take the long way around to the Media Control Room. Lee wants to kill Luis, the little intern sitting inside controlling the video feeds, but Allie refuses to let another man die in their presence. He stands in the way and Lee eventually stands down. While Luis does manage to survive the tense situation, Allie hurriedly works his magic on the computer, copying the files across and supergluing the lock so no one can interfere with what they’ve done. Richard’s voice suddenly booms through the loudspeaker, interrupting the speech, as pictures of the CEO’s family are projected, along with word about the environmental damage big corpos have caused. As a result of this video, the entire building is locked down… but there’s a problem. Allie and William Lee weren’t accounting for the place being shut so hastily and as a result, they’re stuck inside.
The Episode Review
A subplot for Allie sees him and William Lee off together while the truth about Margot being a terrorist is unveiled, thanks to a random Richard just showing up unannounced. It’s now clear that he’s connected to Isela and the others but it’s not fully explained how and for how long he’s been involved in this. The entire episode takes an age to get going too and it’s immediately clear that this second season didn’t need to happen, nor does it have enough material to justify its 10 episode run. This is one lethargic series and this episode in particular is arguably the worst of the bunch. There’s just not a lot of substance. Who knows how many people are still sticking with this one but you’re going to need a lot of patience whilst you wait for the next episode!
